Trial for LSU's Melvin Oliver delayed

BATON ROUGE -- LSU starting defensive end Melvin Oliver's criminal trial on charges of simple battery against the mother of his 1-year-old son and threatening her has been delayed until after football season.

Baton Rouge city court judge Susan Ponder on Tuesday granted a continuance to Oliver's attorney, Mike Walsh, because of his caseload. Oliver, a junior from Opelika, Ala., arrived at court at 9 a.m. Tuesday to hear the news. His new court date is March 1, 2005.

"I have another trial beginning in a few minutes," Walsh said as he crossed St. Louis Street downtown to another courthouse. "I have other conflicts with cases until early next year. There is nothing new with this case."

Ponder said after the proceeding that such continuances are commonplace.

"Normally each side is afforded one opportunity for a continuance," she said. "The reasons vary from case to case."

City prosecutor Lisa Freeman, who is representing Oliver's former girlfriend Bel Leejay, was not happy with the delay.

"Sure, we would rather do it now," Freeman said. "Evidence wouldn't get stale. Memories of the witnesses are better. This sure will put it to well after football season. That's interesting."

Freeman said Leejay also did not want a delay.

"But it is a policy in city court," Freeman said. "They usually give you your first request as long as you give the judge a good reason."

Oliver pleaded not guilty to both charges at arraignment hearings in August and September, respectively. Oliver was arrested on June 18 by Baton Rouge police for simple battery after he allegedly hit Leejay and dragged her in an Albertson's parking lot after the couple had met at 4 a.m. so Oliver could return the child to Leejay.

Leejay later requested and received a restraining order against Oliver and said that he had also threatened her on June 27. Family court judge Annette Lassalle granted the restraining order and later extended it to Aug. 3, 2005. Oliver is allowed to visit his son on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Walsh said unsupervised exchanges of the son have continued to go on without incident.

Leejay was not at court Tuesday because she was told of the delay. She did not return calls for this story, but she previously said little would happen to Oliver "because he's an LSU football player." She also said she still has no plans of dropping any charges.

"We're going to trial," Freeman said. "This is not going to be compromised. No one has asked us to drop the charges because they know we're not going to. It is our practice in domestic cases like this to never let the victims drop the charges because too many times the woman may relent and change her mind after talking to the man."

"But they're not her charges. They are the city's charges against Mr. Oliver. The city has an interest in people not going into public parking lots and hitting people. It's the city's responsibility so the monkey is off the alleged victim's back."

Freeman's witnesses are the arresting officers who said in the police report that Leejay had no marks on her after the incident other than a scratched elbow.

LSU coach Nick Saban disciplined Oliver after the arrest in June. Oliver had to participate in the LSU Police's ride-along program that illustrates law enforcement procedures and had to perform community service. Oliver missed no time on the football field because his charges are misdemeanors and Saban said he believes in him and has said numerous times that he is a good person and well respected by his teammates.

"I will wait until the outcome of the trial to make any further decision if I need to," Saban said. "Melvin has never been a problem with us."

Saban has kicked off players from his teams over the years at LSU and Michigan State before incidents went through the justice system. In one case when one of his Michigan State players was found innocent in court, Saban still suspended him from the team. LSU seniors Corey Webster and Ben Wilkerson, who are both on the team's peer intervention program that can recommend discipline of other players to Saban, have said all along that Oliver deserves no more discipline. Oliver has started seven of LSU's nine games at defensive end and has 26 tackles on the season with four for losses with one quarterback sack and a quarterback hurry.

LSU's student-athlete handbook says athletes charged with a felony, as opposed to the less serious misdemeanor, must be immediately suspended. Immediate suspension can also occur for a misdemeanor if violence or drugs are involved.

"But as far as we know now that's been a 'he-said, she-said' situation," said Kathy Saichuck, coordinator of the LSU Student Health Center, which has a "Men Against Violence" program. "Right now, they're just allegations, and there's still a trial."

James Welles, LSU's associate dean of students, said the Oliver case has not yet reached his office because the judicial system is obviously not done with it and because it didn't happen on campus.

"Only in some instances when the evidence is overwhelming do I decide to take action before the matter has been decided in court," Welles said.

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Trial for LSU's Melvin Oliver delayed

LSU starting defensive end Melvin Oliver's criminal trial on charges of simple battery against the mother of his 1-year-old son and threatening her has been delayed until after football season.